Meet Lori, the Louisville ATF dog with a nose for hidden guns

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) — Guns tossed from moving cars or hidden deep in the woods can quickly become impossible to find. That's where Lori comes in.

Lori is a Labrador retriever with the ATF Louisville field office. She works alongside Special Agent Dan Neie, helping investigators recover firearms, shell casings and explosives at crime scenes across Kentucky and West Virginia.

She's one of ATF's specially trained detection dogs. The agency's National Canine Program has been training dogs and handlers for more than 40 years to help recover evidence and keep large public events safe.

Last year alone, Lori was deployed 120 times. Neie said her ability to search large areas and difficult terrain helps investigators recover evidence they might otherwise miss.

"Sometimes the grass will be longer or a larger area and she can find evidence that wouldn't be normally seen," Neie said.

Lori also works before major public events. Neie said she recently helped with security at the FIFA World Cup and the presidential inauguration.

She's trained to detect the chemicals used in explosives, and handlers work with the wind to help her pick up a scent. She can search buildings, vehicles and wide-open fields for hidden evidence.

When Lori finds what she's looking for, she signals by sitting. She charges toward firearms because the scent gets stronger as she gets closer. When searching for smaller evidence, like shell casings, she slows down and works more carefully.

Lori's path to federal law enforcement started in an unlikely place. She spent nearly the first year of her life in Puppies Behind Bars, a program that trains dogs to become service animals.

"She has a lot of drive," Neie said. "That was really not a good fit for her."

ATF adopted Lori, and she was trained for firearms and explosives detection instead.

Every successful search ends the same way.

"She gets food and she loves it — she's a Labrador," Neie said.

When she's off the clock, Lori lives with Neie and his family.

"We joke that she's Velcro," Neie said. "She follows me around wherever I go."

Neie said Lori's nose helps investigators recover evidence they may have otherwise never found.

"She's also able to find guns that have been secreted in the woods or thrown from a moving vehicle," Neie said. "She can come back and she can find those things."